The New Nikon 1 J3 and Nikon 1 S1 are steps one and three of the newly established price ladder for Nikon's series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. At $500 with a slim 11-27.5mm kit zoom lens, the 10.1 megapixel Nikon 1 S1 is a particularly well-priced option that might entice the photographers who should actually be interested in Nikon's mirrorless camera system.

Based on the quality of their guts alone, Nikon 1 cameras have always been overpriced. And their functionality is targeted more at amateurs without great ambitions rather than more sophisticated—and similarly priced—competitors. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but before now, a Nikon 1 camera with a one-inch sensor costs the same as Sony's—which has a much larger (and better) APS-C sensor.